Endangered Species

Working to reduce the effects of contaminants and other stressful impacts on fish wildlife and their habitats and to plan, implement and monitor restoration projects so that fish and wildlife resources can be recovered.

Environmental Contaminants

Working to reduce the effects of contaminants and other stressful impacts on fish wildlife and their habitats and planning, implementing and monitoring restoration projects so that fish and wildlife resources can recover.

SACRAMENTO:The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service today announced the completion of 5-year reviews for 27 plant and animal species in California and Nevada. Of the reviews being announced today, the Service is recommending delisting the island night lizard, and downlisting the San Clemente Island Indian paintbrush and San Clemente Island broom from endangered to threatened under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). No change in status is recommended for 24 species reviewed.

The 5-year reviews are required by section 4(c)(2)(A) of the ESA. This list of completed reviews incorporates species that were noticed for review on March 22, 2006, February 14, 2007, March 5, 2008, May 21, 2010, January 19, 2011, May 25, 2011, and April 27, 2012. The 5-year review constitutes a recommendation by the Service.

Management responsibilities for each species are assigned to a Fish and Wildlife Office (FWO) within the Service’s Pacific Southwest Region. Information about these species is available on the following offices’ websites:

The ESA requires the Service to maintain a list of endangered and threatened wildlife and plants and requires the Service conduct a review of listed species at least once every five years and determine whether or not any species should be removed from the list (delisted), or reclassified from endangered to threatened (downlisted) or from threatened to endangered (uplisted).

Delisting a species must be supported by the best scientific and commercial data available and only considered if such data substantiates that the species is neither endangered nor threatened because the species is extinct, considered to be recovered, or original data available when the species was listed, or interpretation of data were in error. Any change in federal classification requires a separate rulemaking process distinct from the status review.

The Service’s proposed rule for the delisting of the Island night lizard was published in the Federal Register on February 4, 2013. The San Clemente Island Indian paintbrush and San Clemente Island broom were proposed for reclassification from endangered to threatened and the rule was published on May 16, 2012.

Status Review Initiated for 56 Species

The Service is also announcing today that it is initiating a status review of 56 protected species in California and Nevada.

To ensure a thorough review, the Service is soliciting any new information about these species from the public, concerned governmental agencies, Tribes, the scientific community, industry, environmental entities, and any other interested parties. The Federal Register notice indicates where comments should be sent for each species. It also lists the appropriate contact person for information on each species. New information on the 56 protected species should be submitted by May 30, 2013.

Categories of requested information include:

Species biology, including population trends, distribution, abundance, demographics, and genetics

Habitat conditions, including amount, distribution, and suitability

Conservation measures that have been implemented that benefit the species

Threat status and trends; and other new information, data, or corrections, including but not limited to taxonomic or nomenclatural changes, identification of erroneous information, and improved analytical methods